Encasing cables, hoses and other elongated flexible articles in tubular sleeves, particularly for the purpose of providing abrasion resistance, thereby maintaining the mechanical and electrical properties of the article is well-known in the art. Examples of such sleeving are those sold by the Bentley-Harris Manufacturing Company under the registered trademark EXPANDO. The EXPANDO sleeving is lightweight and provides tough physical protection for cable assemblies, hoses, wire harnesses and the like. The open construction of this type of product is of advantage over a solid material in that it breathes and prevents the entrapment of moisture. In addition, this type of sleeving maintains the bundled elongated articles in clean, compact condition and, depending upon the materials employed, may provide electrical shielding or protection from high temperatures, and has numerous other advantages well recognized in the art. The present invention provides advantages over the sleeving just described such as reduction in costs and simplified installation of the sleeving over multiple cables and other elongated articles and the ability to provide for multiple wire breakouts in a simple and effective fashion.
In certain aspects, the invention is related to EXPANDO products sold under the trademark EXPANDO ZIP which is a tubular braided sleeve of an engineered plastic material such as a polyester having a zipper bonded lengthwise of the sleeve which sleeve is thereafter axially split lengthwise between the zipper elements so that elongated articles may readily be placed within the sleeve and the sleeve thereafter closed. For certain applications, the present invention offers substantial improvements over the product just described and offers simplifications in the manner of making the product.